Gordon Brown will not return to front line of British politics, says Ed Miliband

Sunday 21 September 2014 12:03 BST

No return: Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown will not return to a frontline role in British politics, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.

But Mr Miliband appeared to leave open the possibility of a place in Labour's top team for Alistair Darling, saying that the former chancellor should "take his own decisions" about what he wants to do after successfully leading the Better Together campaign to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.

The former prime minister played a dramatic role in the Scottish independence referendum debate, galvanising the No campaign with a series of last-minute interventions proposing a timetable for further devolution.

His energetic onslaught on First Minister Alex Salmond's campaign for independence led to speculation that Mr Brown might seek election as an MSP in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, and could even replace Johann Lamont as Labour's leader north of the border.

And the rumours were fuelled by his riposte to the SNP leader's claim that Scotland's NHS was under threat in the United Kingdom, when he said: "I say this to Mr Salmond himself - until today I am outside frontline politics. If he continues to peddle this deception... then I will want to join Johann Lamont in fighting him and securing the return of a Labour government."

"He played an important role in the referendum, but he is not going to come back to frontline politics in Britain."

Discussing his plans for the future, Mr Darling - who returned to the backbenches in 2010 after 13 years as a minister - told Marr: "I've got a big decision to take in the next couple of weeks or so, as to whether or not I stand again as an MP. I've got to make that decision fairly quickly.

"Whatever I do inside or outside Parliament, I'm not a spectator by nature."

Asked whether Darling could return to a prominent role for Labour, Mr Miliband said: "I think he has played an incredibly important role in the referendum.

"To be fair to Alistair, he has got to have the space in the coming weeks to make his own decisions.

"He is a very, very strong member of Labour's team. He has got to take his own decisions about what he wants to do.

"He could have chosen an easy life. He could have decided to step back from politics. He decided to throw himself into the referendum. He did a great job, but I think I am going to let him make those decisions for himself."